This study investigates the diversity and dynamics of language attitudes and identity among Japanese returnees from China—young individuals born in Japan who spent several school-age years in China during childhood before returning to Japan. While existing research on returnees has predominantly focused on transnational experiences involving English-speaking countries, comparatively little attention has been paid to mobility within Asia. This study addresses that gap by exploring returnees from China, a group whose experiences remain underrepresented in scholarly discourse.

The analysis draws on interviews with three Japanese returnees from China. Their attitudes toward the Chinese language varied significantly. Some participants expressed strong affiliation with and a high level of expertise in Chinese, while others distanced themselves from the language, denying both proficiency and emotional attachment. These differences were influenced not only by structural factors, such as the type of school attended and the nature of the surrounding community, but also by subjective interpretations of their stay in China and their broader attitudes toward the country itself.

Participants with a positive Chinese language identity tended to incorporate their linguistic and transnational experiences into their future trajectories. For example, one participant secured a position at a Chinese-affiliated company in Japan, where both his Chinese proficiency and academic specialization were directly relevant to his professional role. In contrast, participants with a negative Chinese language identity made conscious efforts to distance themselves from the language in their educational and career choices. One such participant deliberately chose to major in German rather than Chinese upon entering university.

The study also highlights the emotional complexities faced by returnees whose experiences do not align with dominant narratives. One participant, for instance, expressed a sense of frustration and marginalization when comparing himself to returnees from English-speaking countries. These feelings were particularly pronounced in situations where Japan’s university admissions systems or social assumptions seemed to privilege English-speaking returnees.

These findings underscore the need to reconsider prevailing conceptions of returnees in Japan. The current discourse often centers around returnees from Western, English-speaking contexts, inadvertently marginalizing those with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. 

This study has been published as a book chapter in New Approaches to Language and Identity in Contexts of Migration and Diaspora, released by Routledge.